I have FC3. Should I upgrade?

[Elektrophyte]

I've got FC3 installed on my PC. What is the difference moving from one "Core" to the next? Let's say I use YUM to update every package on my machine, including the kernel. Doesn't that mean I have an up-to-date system? Would it somehow be MORE up-to-date if I also upgraded the "Core" number from 3 to 4?

Upgrading is a colossal pain in the ass. I've just spent a good hour downloading the 4 (!) ISOs. Now I'll have to write them onto CDs and then go through the whole tedious CD swapping process.

The information on the Fedora website doesn't make it clear what the different versions ("Cores") actually represent.

Bla bla bla. Y'all get the point. I would very much appreciate any information or clarity anyone could bring to this issue.

Thank you,

E

[ms1234]

Well, I upgraded (even though I didn't have to so stupid me - thought the X bug for intel chips would be fixed, didn't read about the post that said that a fix was coming). After having read posts here that it is better to upgrade via the CD installation I did so (instead of yum dist-upgrade). Upgrade went fine. Except for apt-get which was completly lost. Getting it in some kind of shape it updated around 800Bb of files (when I installed FC3 it downloaded about 1.2Gb of updates *cough*).

After that not much except for this annoying issue of multiple packets (Synaptic complained, apt and yum complained). Got it actually fixed yesterday (yey me).

I'm no Linux expert so there might be some issues that I did wrong (like editing the apt.conf files after the upgrade from FC3 -> FC4 which most likely broke everything). Was it worthwhile? Dunno, FC4 works as well as FC3. But still, why upgrade if it works?

[Elektrophyte]

Good point: why upgrade if it works? But here's the underlying question: what does it MEAN to upgrade?

What is the difference between a fully-updated FC3 system and a fully-updated FC4 system?

They both have all the latest packages and the latest Linux kernel, correct?

[firestorm]

One difference is open office. In order to get 2.0 you need fc4 I believe. The other issue with FC4 is that it is still working out the bugs, which is understandable. Apt isn't that supported by FC4, or atleast not by dag yet. I am still using FC3 and like it fine, will upgrade when FC4 is a lil' more finely tuned :).

[Elektrophyte]

OK, OpenOffice. I don't use it, but if you did use it, that could be a reason to upgrade from FC3 to FC4.

However, I'm still wondering what the fundamental difference is between one "Core" version and the next. If the kernel is the same and all the installed software is the same, why shouldn't it be possible to install OpenOffice 2.0?

To put it differently, "you can't install OpenOffice 2.0" is the EFFECT. I would like to know what the CAUSE is behind the effect. What is it that makes one Core level different from another?

E

[bob]

One thing to consider is that FC3 will soon become a Legacy project with very limited updates (security only, I believe). I hung in with FC2 until well after that, but eventually upgraded to FC4 and haven't looked back. BTW - Apt and Synaptic are still workable with FC4, although I've gotten to like Yum, Yumex and Kyum more in this version.

I'll agree that if it ain't broke and it's doing all you need, why switch? However, at some time you're going to run out of support for new programs, etc.

Oh yeah, on your other question - have you checked the Release Notes? http://fedora.redhat.com/docs/release-notes/fc4/#sn-overview

[BandC]

I believe there are a couple fairly big differences between FC3 and FC4 like gcc 4 (all programs compiled with gcc 4) and free java in FC4. There are also package differences between FC3 and FC4 like ALSA, Gnome desktop, KDE, mysql. Theoretically you can update these yourself (thru yum or manually) however, sometimes manual updates to stuff that affects the system in a big way like desktop environment (Gnome), sound (ALSA) etc. don't go well and later cause you package dependency problems. That's why it's better to upgrade to a new FC version. But if you can live with let's say Gnome 2.8 instead of Gnome 2.10 or a lower version of ALSA, then no you don't have to upgrade. Your yum updates will keep you going for a long time. Some people upgrade every two FC versions like mentioned above. So, you could wait for FC5 instead and then upgrade.

[Elektrophyte]

Thanks for the replies. Maybe I will upgrade soon.

E

[firestorm]

Speaking of FC5, when are the releases for it? I found the info a couple weeks ago but can't seem to find it.

Back on Topic: I would recommend reading some reviews on FC4 before installing to see more opinions.

-fire

[bob]

Speaking of FC5, when are the releases for it? I found the info a couple weeks ago but can't seem to find it.


http://fedora.redhat.com/participate/schedule/